ForumTitleContentMemberSexCountryDate/Time
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures1-864 - Previous 1 yr. tax return or 3 for self employed
Thank Ahn Map! that says it all...

3. plan your 2011 tax return so that line 22 meets the income requirement.

I'm going to leave 2009 & 2010 the way they are.... it shows a nice cash flow.... but will not meet the magic number...or even really come close. 2011 I will not be able to take maximum deductions and will hit the number.


I also looked into the permanent residency requirements and read the "up to one year" without a re-entry permit part but it still sounds a bit vague. Are people allowed to have houses in two countries and travel back and forth and maintain residences in two countries while holding a green card? The visa laws sure weren't written for us! Especially because this is a small business. A nice little business that supports me and important to our community here in Tahoe... but a small one!

Also anyone willing to chime in on how much less expensive a route you think the CR1 may be over the K1 because we really could go either way.

Thank you for all the advice thus far :.)
C-LeeFemaleThailand2011-10-12 01:09:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures1-864 - Previous 1 yr. tax return or 3 for self employed
Oh,,, I thought I replied to this, but I'm new to this forum and must not have hit the right button. Ning, Thank you so much for your information. I appreciate it so very much. I'm well aware of the CR1... how much cheaper all together do you really think that is? I'm a little confused about the ability to be out of the country up to a year as a green card holder. Is that right... I always thought it was 6 months. I'm really happy to hear that you both feel they will put most of the emphasis on just the one year tax return. The others show good overall cash flow but we took a lot of business write offs both of those years buying inventory and covering high rents and both those come off the over-all adjusted gross income and put me below the 18,000 mark. What I will have to do to qualify is not have as many write-offs in 2011 and pay more in taxes this year. I will look further into the CR1 but that would involve us getting married in Thailand soon to start the process. I'm flying over on Sunday but a wedding wasn't in my plans on this trip :.) Oh.... wish it was a free world and these borders weren't so difficult!!!
C-LeeFemaleThailand2011-10-12 00:13:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures1-864 - Previous 1 yr. tax return or 3 for self employed
Hi Ning ~

Oh..sorry, I guess I didn't make it clear. I want to marry Mai very much. We definitely plan on living our lives out together. I am now 44 and he is 39. The thing is we plan on settling in Chiang Mai probably 10 yrs from now so obtaining U.S citizenship for him isn't our #1 priority. But we would like him to be able to visit the U.S or even spend 1/2 the year here but it would be nice if it was on our terms how long he had to stay here each year. I understand while holding a U.S green card you can't be out of the U.S longer than 6 months... is this true? We met volunteering in a circus project on the Burmese border and have traveled all over Thailand together. We are very involved in volunteer projects in Thailand working with children. In the states I live in one of the most beautiful places in the world Lake Tahoe... of course I want to share it with him. I'm afraid all the business visas may be hard to get as it is my business not his and it's a small one at that. Mai is an artist, he's been featured this year in the Bangkok Post and has been on TV 2 times. Sometimes I think he may qualify for an "exceptional talent visa" on his own if he was invited to an event or conference here in the states, but that's a bit of a long shot. As for my business "Jai Yen" wonder what would happen if we opened a shop in Chiang Mai together, got married in Thailand and then applied for some kind of "business" visa. Thing is, I see people with a lot of assets, who have been paying taxes for years in Thailand get turned down. So that just seems like a long, long road to nowhere. So, while I still have a successful business in the U.S and residency here it seems time to apply for the K!. We never know the future and with the current U.S state of the economy we don't know how well, my business will do, or if Thailand or the U.S will tighten border controls. etc etc. So, that's why I'm thinking now's the time to start this.

If they are only concerned with the most recent tax year which by the time we get through will be 2011 then that is the year I need to focus on that's great. As for 2009 & 2010 what if no taxes were paid... they were filed but we did not owe in 2009. Also adjusted gross income was well below poverty guidelines. Are you sure this is o.k. Thank you for your time in helping me out with this :.)

Edited by C-Lee, 08 October 2011 - 02:32 PM.

C-LeeFemaleThailand2011-10-08 14:31:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures1-864 - Previous 1 yr. tax return or 3 for self employed
Hello there~

I am considering starting a K1 visa application for my Thai boyfriend Mai. I own a retail store in Lake Tahoe specializing in South East Asian handicrafts and have spent the last 11 years traveling back and forth to Thailand. I am in the U.S 7 months a year and Thaiand 5 months. For 10 years now, and have rented the same house in Bangkok for 7 years. He doesn't really need or want U.S citizenship, but he will never qualify for a tourist visa as an artist, and it's not like I can sponsor him for one as his girlfriend. If he wants to ever set foot on U.S soil and meet my family and see my home and shop here our only way is a K1 visa. Then it looks like we'll both have to be here at least 6 months of the year for the next chunk of time until this mountain of paperwork we're about to embark on, fee's, appointments, and worries have come to an end. Really to bad he couldn't just come and be in the U.S two months a year during rainy season.... but the U.S sure doesn't make that very easy!

So here's my big question~

When filing the I-864 and you're self employed are they looking at only the most recent years tax returns or the last three. This will make a big difference to me as Last year we were fine but 3 years ago our numbers were not strong enough to qualify. Although the shop brought in 80,000 U.S in gross sales we had enough write-offs that the adjusted gross income was below 18,000... or the minimum poverty guideline. So does that mean we would not qualify?

It looks as if they definitely only need one year with the 1-134 and nothing with the 129F

am I correct with my information here? I found this below on the USCIS site and they seem to say you only need one year with the 1-864~



All sponsors must submit the following documentation with their I-864:
? Proof of current employment or self employment
? A photocopy or an Internal Revenue Service-issued transcript of a photocopy or an Internal Revenue Service-issued transcript of your complete Federal income tax return for your most recent tax year, or an explanation if it is not submitted. Your W-2s and/or 1099 forms may also be required, see the I-864 instructions for details.
You may also, at your option, submit a photocopy or an Internal Revenue Service-issued transcript of your complete Federal income tax returns for your second and third most recent tax years if you believe these additional tax returns may help you establish the ability to maintain your household income at the governing threshold set forth in Form I-864P, Poverty Guidelines.


Thank you for your help with this matter. I would especially like to hear from any self employed people in this area or anyone who has any advice for people with business's with large write-offs.

Thank you~

Christy Lee

Edited by C-Lee, 07 October 2011 - 11:09 PM.

C-LeeFemaleThailand2011-10-07 23:06:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & ProceduresO.K to send K1 application to U.S from Bangkok??
This my be a very silly question but I just want to make absolutely sure before I make plans. I am traveling to Thailand tomorrow and will be there for 5 weeks. I rent a home in Bangkok and have more down time over there than I do here in the U.S as I own a busy retail store here. I'm hoping to use this time in Thailand with my boyfriend Mai to pull together all of our info and paperwork for his K1 visa application. He is Thai... I am a U.S citizen. If we're able to get it all together is it o.k to post it from Thailand to the USCIS? I will be returning home Nov. 22nd and could always mail it when I get back but if we have it done by the end of Oct. it would be nice to get that jump start.

Appreciate the advice~

Christy
C-LeeFemaleThailand2011-10-14 13:46:00